Broadband and mobile internet access is spreading to more Americans, making them more likely to access health information whenever and wherever they need it. The always-on, always-with-you internet enhances people's online experience and creates a positive feedback loop, reinforcing their interest in using the internet to gather and share information. And yet, those who are online have a trump card. They have each other. Pew Internet’s research finds that having a chronic disease increases the probability that an internet user will share what they know and learn from their peers. They unearth nuggets of information. They blog. They participate in online discussions. And they just keep going.

(Source: Pew Internet Research Center)

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Pew Internet Research Center

Hosted by the Government of Botswana through the Department of Research, Science and Technology, Supported by the European Commission and African Union Commission and Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE, IST-Africa 2011 will take place in Gaborone, 04 - 06 May 2011. The scientific programme for IST-Africa 2011 is based on an open Call for Papers The core thematic areas are eHealth, eInfrastructures, Technology Enhanced Learning and ICT Skills, Digital Libraries and Intelligent Content, Living Labs, Open Source Software, ICT for eInclusion and eAccessibility, ICT for Environmental Sustainability, RFID and Networked Enterprise, eGovernment, Networked Media, Transformation of Research Results into Local Innovation, Cloud Computing and IPv6. Interested presenters are encouraged to prepare an 8 page paper (4,000 - 5,000) words following the IST-Africa 2011 paper guidelines and paper template for submission online by 30 November.

All submissions will be double blind reviewed by the International Programme Committee and authors will receive feedback in January. Accepted authors will then be invited to submit a final paper taking account of feedback provided for inclusion in the conference proceedings by 18 February.

(Source: IST Africa)

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IST Africa

The increased interest in e-waste recycling comes as Kenya enters a new regulatory regime, with guidelines that are meant to steer the formation of a new policy to support recyclers of obsolete mobiles, fridges, televisions, and computers, among other electronic items.

"Providing IT e-waste recycling is a logical extension of our current work in providing technology for schools across Kenya. Our engagement with HP will allow us to manage our own end of life equipment from schools and provide a local service where there is currently no provision for IT e-waste recycling, said Eoghan Crosby, the technical director at Camara. The plant is expected to handle 500 tonnes of e-waste in a year.

(Source: All Africa)

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All Africa

The European Commission is organizing a workshop on Understanding the role of ICT in the integration of Immigrant and Ethnic Minorities (IEM), on November 23rd, 2010, in Brussels that will encourage the sharing of good practices and research studies in the area of ICT-enabled or supported IEM participation in lifelong learning, improved employability and social integration.

Indeed, recent research has shown the importance of ICT (among which social computing applications seems to play a specifically important role) in the process of enabling the socio-economic integration of IEM people and fostering cultural diversity in our European knowledge societies. Different types of integration where ICT play a role can be distinguished, as top-down and mediated integration, which relies upon online welcoming and integration services provided by public or third sector social organisations which are increasingly taking advantage of ICT to facilitate the integration of IEM; or bottom-up integration, which relies on informal hospitality and is directly linked to social networking processes between migrants and members of the host society.

(Source: European Commission)

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European Commission

Canada is seeing e-health gains in the area of medication, with an estimated $436 million in cost savings and efficiencies this year, a report released Wednesday says. Drug information systems, which are hooked up now mainly in the western provinces and Prince Edward Island and to a lesser extent elsewhere, allow pharmacists and health-care providers to electronically access records of a patient's prescription medications. And they provide a full and accurate medication history so that potential drug interactions or allergies can be caught before they happen. The $436-million tally and report were compiled by Deloitte for Canada Health Infoway, a federally funded organization that was founded in 2001 and charged with helping provinces and territories to adopt electronic health-record projects.

"We expect that number to increase over time as drug information systems are more widely used in the country, and we get more experienced with their use," said Jennifer Zelmer, senior vice-president of clinical adoption and innovation at Infoway.

(Source: CBC)

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CBC

Countries all over the world are facing manifold challenges regarding their healthcare delivery. Due to limited budgets and increasing demand for high-quality healthcare services, new cost-efficient, reliable and interconnected systems need to be developed. E-health can make a significant contribution to ensure high-quality, sustainable healthcare systems. The Global E-Health Forum, which will take place on October 25 + 26, 2010 in Hamburg, Germany, will address these challenges.

The primary aim of the organizers of the Global E-Health Forum, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, IBM and the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL), is to provide a cross-sector forum for representatives from hospitals and clinics, governments, health insurance organizations, service providers and the media. Policymakers, users, suppliers and implementation managers will have the opportunity to learn from each other and to develop collaborative working relationships.

(Source: Global E-Health Forum)

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Global E-Health Forum

Nearly six-in-ten adults (58%) have done research online about the products and services they buy, and about a quarter (24%) have posted comments or reviews online about the things they buy. On a typical day, 21% of adults search for product information online.

This is an increase from 15% in 2007 and 9% in 2004. The 2010 data come from a telephone survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducted between August 9 and September 13, 2010. The survey was administered to a sample of 3,001 adults, age 18 and older, using a combination of landline and cellular telephones. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish. The sample margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for the general population and plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for internet users (n=2,065). Among internet users, 78% say that they at least occasionally conduct product research and 32% report that they have posted online product comments.

(Source: Pew Internet Research)

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Pew Internet Research

Harrisburg University has banned these social media sites, as well as MySpace and AOL Instant Messenger, for one week on the Pennsylvania campus, starting September 13.

The ban is not because of any security or privacy issue. Rather, it is an experiment to make students and faculty members think about the significance of social media and how best to benefit from this channel in its absence. "We're not trying to stop all access to these sites," says Charles Palmer, executive director of the Center for Advanced Entertainment and Learning Technologies. "We're trying to enhance people's ability to reflect on how technology impacts their daily lives and really generate valuable conversations." According to Jeffery Mechling, a prominent author and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, "People depend a lot on those they trust. Making those connections easier is powerful, as social media have demonstrated. But this is a new phenomenon, so studying and understanding better is valuable."

(Source: Bank Info Security)

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Bank Info Security

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of targets intended to reduce global poverty and improve living standards by 2015. Specific goals target education, fighting disease and promoting gender equality. Access to communications technology is a part of one of the targets. With five years to go until the deadline to achieve the goals, progress remains uneven. Some countries have achieved many of the goals, while others - mostly in the developing world - may not realise any. Many development experts question how the goals will be achieved and how they will be paid for. Some even question whether the approach is necessary or helpful.

But Dr Toure said that he believed technologies such as broadband could be used to "accelerate" progress on the goals and help countries achieve them. "Access to broadband in an affordable manner is our greatest challenge," Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), told BBC News.

(Source: BBC)

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BBC

ICT For Health Projects Exhibiting

27 September 2010 - 29 September 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The ICT for Health projects present at the ICT2010 conference. CD-Medics, Epilepsiae, HeartCycle, Hamam and Oldes will be exhibiting. Three eHealth related networking sessions will also take place on the following topics: Patient empowerment, EU-ASEAN Cooperation opportunities and Low-cost Imaging Technologies for Healthcare.

(Source: Europe's Information Society)

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Europe's Information Society  

Americans use a range of approaches to keep informed about what is happening in their communities and online activities have been added to the mix. Face-to-face encounters and phone calls remain the most frequent methods of interaction with neighbors. At the same time, internet tools are gaining ground in community-oriented communications. In a poll conducted at the end of last year, we asked about online connections to communities and neighbors and found that in the twelve months preceding our survey:

- 22% of all adults (representing 28% of internet users) signed up to receive alerts about local issues (such as traffic, school events, weather warnings or crime alerts) via email or text messaging.

- 20% of all adults (27% of internet users) used digital tools to talk to their neighbors and keep informed about community issues.

(Source: Pew Research Center)

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Pew Research Center

Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen. From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection. Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015.

Finland's communication minister Suvi Linden explained the thinking behind the legislation: "We considered the role of the internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment. "Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access," she said. It is believed up to 96% of the population are already online and that only about 4,000 homes still need connecting to comply with the law.

(Source: BBC)

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BBC

With over 3.4 million users of the internet in Kenya, research indicates that the importance of the internet outstrips those of several key developed countries. Even so, the latent demand for local content is underlined by the fact that surveys show that lack of local content is the main reason many Kenyans shy away from accessing the internet. On the launch of the grant facility, the CEO, Kenya ICT Board Paul Kukubo, commented, “We are pleased that we are launching this grant at a time that the ICT industry is growing and access to the internet all over the country has vastly improved.

The future for content industry is bright. Talent, creativity and skills are key drivers of competitiveness in the content sector and we expect that this grant will enable Kenyans everywhere to develop world class locally relevant content and get this industry to rapidly match the lucrative opportunities for talented content developers in developed nations.”

(Source: Afrinnovator)

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Afrinnovator

Cisco Systems has embarked on a "take back and recycle" program, to ensure that consumers in Africa do not use phased-out equipment. The program takes used Cisco gear as well phased-out products that may still be sitting on resellers' shelves. Cisco has already indicated that it is phasing out the Linksys brand, which is common in Africa. "The Computer For Schools Kenya (CFSK) plant can handle large quantities of e-waste in a day; has employed young people and its important for equipment manufacturers and vendors in the region to work with communities,"

While the Cisco program may save customers the cost of managing and storing excess, outdated, or used ICT equipment, most such equipment on the continent is dumped is sold at low cost -- in some cases the equipment works, making cost-conscious customers consider buying obsolete equipment.

(Source: ComputerWorld Kenya)

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ComputerWorld Kenya

This paper presents the findings from the 2nd Global Annual Symposium on DNS Security, Stability and Resiliency, conducted 1-3 February 2010 at Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan. Program committee members chose to focus this year's conference on the theme of measuring the health of the DNS. As the entire Internet relies daily on the DNS, understanding its health – both at a given instant and as it changes over time – is critical for being able to reasonably predict the DNS's health outlook and to decide whether to take corrective measures.

The Symposium endeavored to analyze the state of understanding DNS health, the key vital signs for the DNS and how the community might approach improving measurement and assessment of DNS health.

(Source: ICANN)

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ICANN

From 15 to 18 March 2010 the Ministry of Health of Spain and the Regional Government of Catalonia in cooperation with the European Commission are organizing a ministerial Conference in Barcelona. It will co-locate with the World of Health IT conference. High-level eHealth conferences organised by the presiding countries since 2003 represent important annual milestones in this specific field. Spain therefore will carry on the tradition and host this Conference in Barcelona as a part of its presidency in the first half of 2010.

A platform will be provided to encourage the development of on-line health services in Europe. The politicians, health administrators, researchers and suppliers, along with health professionals, are meeting to share their experiences and to discover what is new in this fast-evolving area.

(Source: Europe's Information Society)

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European Comission

More than three-quarters of people across the world believe access to the Internet is a fundamental right, a poll carried out for the BBC indicated Monday. The poll, which questioned more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries, suggested strong support globally for access to the web. The findings come as efforts are stepped up across the world to increase net access, with the United Nations leading a push for more people to be given the opportunity to get online. Countries including Finland and Estonia have already ruled it is a human right, said the BBC.

"The right to communicate cannot be ignored," Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, told the broadcaster. "The Internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created."

(Source: AFP)

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AFP

This three-day event fosters opportunities for IT and Telecommunication professionals to network, build relationships, and explore new ideas. It brings together IT professionals, developers, decisions and policy makers, governmental officials, experts, consultants, industry leaders, bankers, law enforcement officials, academics, networks security managers, database administrators, IT marketing executives, surveyors, etc. to share their protection experience in IT security and exchange ideas on most emerging technology trends, applications and practices.

Kuwait ICT Security Forum aims to keep you at the forefront of the latest security developments. Don't miss this opportunity to learn fresh approaches and develop innovative strategies and tactics to defeat today's biggest information security threats.

(Source: Kuwait ICT Security Forum)

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Kuwait ICT Security Forum

The government develops a new strategy to help the information technology industry cut down on waste While no one will ever confuse the polluting effects of the information and communications technology sector with, say, the oil industry, all is not green in the realm of ICT. The world throws away of hundreds of millions of mobile phones, computers, printers, batteries and gadgets annually, while energy and raw materials consumed by the industry account for more than 2% of global greenhouse gases emissions.

It is with this in mind that the Egyptian government has begun work on a green information and communication technology (ICT) strategy aimed at reducing the sector’s energy use and finding a place for the tons of hardware thrown away every year.

(Source: Business Today)

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Business Today

Nearly 500 teachers are meeting in Seville to celebrate the fifth anniversary of eTwinning, an action that creates online communities of teachers and schools across Europe. Through eTwinning, over 85 000 teachers from across Europe work together in international school activities involving more than 50 000 schools in 32 European countries. In the five years of its existence, eTwinning has grown from being a partner-finding tool for teachers to become a rich, Europe-wide community of teaching and learning ( www.etwinning.net ).

On 5 February, a prize ceremony is being held for 37 schools from 21 countries that are the top winners of this year's eTwinning Awards for excellence in eTwinning.

(Source: Europa)

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Europa

The design of the future German identity card has been unveiled. Credit-card sized and made of polycarbonate, it will be issued from November 2010 on. The new card aims to ease the citizens' transactions with government and businesses and to increase security as well as to enhance public confidence in electronic services.

The front side has the image of the federal eagle, whereas on its reverse side the Brandenburg Gate is depicted. The new card contains numerous security features in order to increase protection against forgery. A special feature is that the holder's details are digitally stored. It is also capable to carry a digital signature. Both features will allow card holders to complete commercial online transactions as well as official business with government offices.

(Source: eGov Monitor)

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eGov Monitor

For the first time, the Ministerial High Level Conference on eHealth and the World Health IT Conference and Exhibition are being held in the same week in a joint initiative called “e-Health Week 2010”, the most prestigious event in the European eHealth sector. Barcelona International Conventions Centre (CCIB) will open its doors from March 15 to 18 to receive the European meeting most attended by the healthcare sector interest groups.

March 15 will see the start of the High Level eHealth Conference, an E.U. event organised by the Spanish Presidency of the E.U., the European Commission, the Government of Catalonia and the TicSalut Foundation. The conference is presented under the motto of “eHealth for sustainable healthcare: global changes through local actions”

(Source: eHealth Week)

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eHealth Week

Hundreds of tech volunteers spurred to action by Haiti's killer quake are adding a new dimension to disaster relief, developing new tools and services for first responders and the public in an unprecedented effort. "It really is amazing the change in the way crisis response can be done now," said Noel Dickover, a Washington, D.C.-based organizer of the CrisisCamp tech volunteer movement, which is central to the Haiti effort. "Developers, crisis mappers and even Internet-savvy folks can actually make a difference."

Another volunteer project forged in the quake's aftermath is a cell phone text-messaging system that has helped the U.N., Red Cross and other relief groups dispatch rescuers, food and water.

(Source: AP)

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AP

The World Economic Forum today released its study on Scaling Opportunity: Information and Communications Technology for Social Inclusion, an analysis of how ICT is evolving to address the social and economic needs of the poor. The study notes that, as 4 billion people have access to the global communications infrastructure, the opportunity to create innovative and inclusively tailored solutions for connecting the unconnected is extraordinary.

Along with highlighting the rapid adoption rate of mobile phone usage within emerging economies, the report focuses on the question: “What’s next?”

(Source: eGov Monitor)

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eGov Monitor